Looking through wall-to-wall windows in his seventh-floor office in downtown Dayton, Dave Melin has a clear view of anything happening downtown. And as president of Dayton operations for PNC Bank — part of PNC Financial Services Group — he has a pretty good read on what’s driving the economy too.

Melin has held the position for almost two years, after serving as city executive for rival bank Fifth Third across the street.

Melin sat down with me to discuss his ideas for stimulating growth in the local economy, his expectations for 2013 and fire safety.

Q: What is your vision for PNC in 2013?

A: When I came on board I tried to keep it simple. I wanted to be a double-digit growth company in a no or slow growth market. It relies on interacting differently with your client. Talking to them about the issues they are facing. The benefit we have is the size and scope that we have within PNC and being able to deliver that on a local market basis. We have to figure out what’s in the head of our customers or prospects, what solutions can we provide, and leverage the resources we have being the size and scope that we are.

Q: What’s your outlook on the banking industry?

A: On a macro basis — it’ll be stable but we’ve got some headwinds in our industry. I put it into three buckets. We’ve got this low-rate environment that we’ve been in for a long period of time, which is a function of an economy that is growing, but is growing slow. That dovetails into modest loan demand. That gets back to this economy, while growing, growing slowly. Third would be how do we change and react to the changes in our customers and be more efficient?

It’ll be basic blocking and tackling. It’ll be a stable year for the banking industry.

Q: Where do you expect to see the most lending growth?

A: Transportation and distribution seem pretty good, and core manufacturing seems pretty stable. Our challenge here is we had growth in the defense industry through Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. That’s been stymied so far until this sequestration gets solved. Talking to that customer base, the fourth quarter was really slow. Things were expedited into the third quarter, and then the fourth quarter just kind of dropped off until they figure out what things are going to look like once Congress passes something. We have this diverse economy, but it’s going to be a challenge.

Q: What about other types of lending?

A: Housing has seen signs of rebounding, which is a plus for the economy here in Dayton. I see that following similar trends. We didn’t overbuild tremendously like other cities and have that huge price run up. I see there’s more of a natural balance between supply and demand. New mortgage origination is growing a little bit. The refinancing boom is probably getting to the tail end of that. One of the key focal points of the economy is where is housing, what is it’s role in contribution to overall growth. 2012 was driven by government. If that slows down, who picks up that percentage of modest growth? Housing could be a contributor, but I think — our economists put it this way, fourth quarter was a little softer, and because of potential defense spending (cuts), we’re real fragile.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge you will face in 2013?

A: I’m pretty optimistic. We’ve got a really talented team. We continue to make investments in the community which then we believe creates economic growth, and to be a driver, that’s really important.

The lending part of it — there is more demand, people are buying equipment and doing some building expansions. The underwriting of those loans is a little more clear too because you have had a couple years of better performance coming off 2008. There’s less “I think it’s getting better,” it’s now “I see it getting better.” A lot of our clients have had record profits, maybe not record sales, but record profits in company history. That’s contrary to what you hear, but the stock market is reflective of corporate earnings being strong.

One of my concerns is the lack of new business starts. I’ve seen a lot of businesses sold, whether it was tax driven last year, or the business had recovered. But with the unclear direction of government and health care and taxes long term, the entrepreneur starting his business sees that there’s too many challenges versus the upside of starting your own business. That’s a little concerning for me.

What we need in our economy to grow is that startup company with a couple employees to get to the next stage, take that product to the next level, and continuing to grow. You’re always going to have companies that are going to sell, but we need that natural evolution and growth in companies. We’ve got the assets to do it, it’s just a matter of if there’s enough individuals doing that.

Q: How about a few personal questions. If your house was burning down, what one possession would you save?

A: A photo album. My wife does a lot of scrapbooking, but I would grab my wedding photo album. It has pictures of family that aren’t around any more, friends, and we’ve been married over 17 years. I texted my wife the same question and she said photos. All the other things you can recreate, as long as our pets are safe. Oh, and my sister is a firefighter in California. She’s got some good stories and always gets the kids to focus in on escape routes.

Q: What’s your favorite vacation spot?

A: Can I change it and say bucket list? I’ve been to Colorado a couple times but I think taking a white water rafting trip down the Colorado River would be pretty cool. I’ve done some fly fishing out there, but I would want to do that trip as a family thing.

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

A: “Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, and the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” That’s by Peter Drucker. That’s kind of my vision — believing in yourself, setting higher goals than you think are achievable, raising the bar. That’s different between leadership and management.